My neighbor gifted me a Shopsmith planer and I picked up an AMT jointer on CL. As of this afternoon, both are sitting in my basement awaiting some TLC before they return to action. I’ve tracked down manuals for both and have begun using air to blast out the spiders, mice, squirrels etc. living inside and lubricating moving parts. My first question, and I’m sure there will be many others, is about the tables. Both had some rust and after an oiling and wipe still have visible surface pitting. How much cleaning should I do before waxing? How much abrasive is OK? Fine steel wool? 300 grit sandpaper? I remember reading someone recommending rust remover, but I don’t think he said precisely what kind of rust remover. If I’m not mistaken WD 40 claims some rust removing additives. And Autozone has a dozen rust removers many of which have dilute phosphoric acid or other hardcore ingredients.I’m trying not to rush and think all this through, but I want to play with my new toys too.

Evapo-rust is the bomb.. love the stuff. Electrolysis works well also. Get rid of the chunky stuff first (grit, dirt, paint drips, etc..) with a razor blade and some WD-40 followed by a scotch brite pad. After removing the rust using whatever method, I have a secret sauce that gets rid of stains pretty well.. dilute solution of phosphoric acid, alcohol and distilled water. Wipe it on really good, let it sit for a minute or two, then scrub good with a scotch brite pad. Using a vibrating sander with the scotch brite cuts down on the work involved. After you have scrubbed it good, wipe it dry, clean it up with some acetone or mineral spirits and then paste wax.

Evapo-rust looks interesting. It’s new to me, so thanks for the tip. Their website recommends immersing the rusted piece. I assume it will work when just brushed on. I’m not planning on disassembling these suckers any more than necessary.

You really need to dunk parts in evaporust completely.. there are lots of ways this can be done without actually having to have a huge tub.. a large rubber-maid storage container top can be used to make a shallow pool that the top can then be turned upside down and placed into for example. or even tape around the edges to hold the evaporust. I would avoid using sandpaper or any other abrasives on the machined table top.. it can damage the surface and if not careful, you can create an uneven surface. Unless you really need to, I’d stick with the less abrasive methods.